Possible carrier of Ebola virus being monitored in Wales

Britain may be facing its first case of Ebola. A person in Wales is being monitored by health officials following a potential exposure to the virus.

Though the individual is
not showing any concrete symptoms of the virus, the person has
voluntarily limited their contact with others and will not be
going to work, Public Health Wales (PHW) confirmed on
Tuesday.

It is believed the individual may have been exposed to the virus
in West Africa.

The recent outbreak of Ebola has so far killed 887 people across
Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria. Over 1,600 separate
cases of the virus have been detected throughout the region.

There are currently no confirmed incidences of the virus in
Wales, or in the wider United Kingdom.

“We are alert to the possibility of Ebola cases in the UK
given the outbreak in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea and we
remain vigilant to unexplained illness in people who have
traveled from the area,” PHW told the Independent on
Tuesday.

Measures are currently in place to protect public health in the
event of an outbreak in the region, Public Health Wales added.

The potential Ebola carrier is not currently in hospital,
according to a Public Health England (PHE) spokeswoman. But if
the individual develops suspicious symptoms, the person will be
quarantined in a local hospital and receive medical tests to
discern whether he or she has contracted the deadly disease, the
spokeswoman added.

If it is confirmed that the individual has been infected with
Ebola, he or she will be transferred to a specialist London-based
hospital and cared for in isolation.

The PHE spokeswoman was unable to comment where the individual
suspected of carrying the virus had traveled from, or whether the
person was a tourist or health worker. As a precautionary
measure, GPs in England and Wales have been advised to ask
patients who report apparently benign flu-like symptoms if they
have passed through the affected regions, she said.

Last week, PHE experts briefed UK Border Agency representatives
along with airport staff throughout the country on how to
successfully identify symptoms of the disease. They were also
advised on how to cope with infected passengers, according to Dr
Brian McCloskey, director of global health at PHE.

“This is easily the biggest Ebola outbreak we have ever
seen,” Dr. McCloskey warned. “And it is clearly not yet
under control.”

PHE’s decision to brief UK Border Agency representatives and
airport staff was sparked after Patrick Sawyer – who tragically
died of the disease – boarded a number of international flights
in Africa, despite showing signs of the virus.

Sawyer was suffering from vomiting and diarrhea when he caught a
flight from Liberia, stopped over in Ghana, caught another plane
to Togo, and finally passed away in Nigeria.

Following the tragic event, doctors throughout the world have
been advised to be on alert for patients displaying early
symptoms of the fatal disease, which include headaches, joint and
muscle pain, fever, and a loss of appetite.

More advanced symptoms include vomiting, abdominal pain,
diarrhea, rash, and internal and external bleeding – often from
the nose, eyes, or mouth.